Material With Enhanced Thermal Properties

ABSTRACT

A low density component, such as hollow microspheres, dispersed in a binder to produces a material having a surface that is comfortable to the touch even after extended exposure to an energy source, such as direct sun light.

CROSS-REFERENCE To RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of prior application Ser. No.11/464,406, filed Aug. 14, 2006, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a material having enhanced surface thermalproperties and, in particular, to a material that is comfortable to thetouch even after being exposed to an energy source, such as directsunlight, for an extended period of time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heat flows from a warm object to a cool object by way of conduction,convection, and radiation. Conduction is transfer of heat throughphysical objects, such as a thermometer under your tongue. Convection istransfer of heat through a fluid, such as an ice cube cooling a glass ofwater. Radiation is the transfer of heat through free space, such aswarming your hands by a fire. Such properties are often optimized inmaterials used to construct buildings and homes to make the buildingscomfortable and more energy efficient.

On the other hand, these thermal properties are less often optimized inmaterials used to fabricate outdoor walking surfaces, such as driveways,sidewalks, patios, and the like. For example, swimming pools aretypically surrounded by ceramic tiles or concrete. After exposure todirect sunlight, these surfaces can become so hot to be uncomfortable tothe touch. This situation is commonly experienced by an individual whomust soft step across the tile or concrete surface to move about thepool area with bare feet.

These walking surfaces are believed to be uncomfortably hot to touchbecause of the combination of high thermal mass, low emissivity, and lowthermal conductivity. Thermal mass is the ability of a material to storeheat. Emissivity is the ability of a surface to emit or give off heat.Thermal conductivity is the ability of a material to transfer energy orheat. As a result, the typical material used to surround a pool (i.e.,ceramic tiles or concrete) easily store heat energy from the sun, andlack the ability to quickly radiate this stored energy every quickly,and easily transfer it to the ground underneath. As such, upon extendedexposure to direct sun-light, these materials will be uncomfortably hotto the touch.

Insulating properties have been addressed by blending into materials asmall quantity of hollow glass microspheres. For example, insulatingpaint and coatings have been prepared by blending about 6.5 percent toabout 16.5 percent microspheres to form an insulating paint or aninsulating thermal coating. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,623,390 and4,332,618.) In another example, an insulating elastomeric roof coatingis prepared by blending about 6.2 percent glass shells into a polymerand resin mixture. (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,974). These examplesblend a small quantity of microspheres (i.e., less than about 16.5percent) into a base material to obtain the desired insulatingproperties. Such low level microsphere formulations, however, do notnecessarily provide a surface that is comfortable to touch afterexposure to an energy source because optimization of a material'sinsulating characteristics is distinct from improving its surfacethermal properties.

It is also known to blend higher density additives (i.e., cellulosefibers or glass fibers) and lower density additives (i.e.,microballoons) into resin systems as fillers and thickeners to generallyimprove the strength of the resin system. Typically, these applicationsonly include about 4 percent to about 60 percent filler if using thehigh density additive or about 20 percent to about 40 percent if usingthe low density additive.

Accordingly, there is a desire for a material that can be exposed to anenergy source, such as direct sun light, and retain the ability to becomfortably touched even after extended exposure to the energy source.It also is desired for the material to have sufficient structuralintegrity to support waling on it and use of furniture without becomingdamaged.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The material includes a sufficient amount of a low density componentdispersed in a binder so that the low density component provides asurface that remains comfortable to the touch even after being exposedto an energy source. If desired, the material may be formed intoconvenient shapes for handling and use, such as floor tiles, patiobricks, slabs, rock shapes, and the like. Alternatively, the materialalso may be formed into roofing tiles, building siding materials, andany other application desiring a surface with improved thermalproperties.

The low density component is preferably dispersed uniformly throughoutthe binder. The effective amount of the low density component issufficient to modify the thermal and mass properties of the material asdesired. When the material is used to form a predetermined shape, suchas a floor tile having a thickness of about ⅜ inch, a portion of the lowdensity component also preferably forms at least a portion of thesurface of the tile. In this manner, the low density component altersthe thermal properties of the tile surface such that it remains at atemperature that a bare foot or hand, for example, can comfortably toucheven after extended exposure to direct sun light for about severalhours. That is, the surface of the floor tile remains at 100° F. or lesseven upon exposure to direct sunlight for an extended period of time.

The material includes greater than about 40 percent of the low densitycomponent uniformly dispersed throughout the binder and, preferably,about 70 percent to about 80 percent of the low density component. Thepreferred low density component is hollow microspheres having an averagediameter from about 4 microns to about 100 microns and a density ofabout 0.3 to about 0.5 grams per cubic centimeter. The most preferredhollow microspheres are fabricated out of glass or ceramic, have anaverage diameter of about 80 to about 100 microns, and have a ratio ofwall thickness to sphere diameter (aspect ratio) of about 0.7. Suchaspect ratio optimizes the strength and thermal characteristics of themicrospheres. Examples of suitable hollow microspheres are K-seriesScotchlite™ Glass Bubbles (3M Company, St. Paul, Minn.) or Q-Cell™hollow spheres or Extendospheres™ hollow ceramic spheres (PottersIndustries, Valley Forge, Pa.).

The wall thickness generally provides strength to the microspheres, andthe cavity volume generally provides the improved thermal properties.Therefore, the aspect ratio can be varied to optimize both the tile'sthermal characteristics and strength. For example, utilizingmicrospheres with a larger diameter and a thinner wall (i.e., a smalleraspect ratio) generally forms a tile with decreased thermal mass that ismore comfortable to touch. On the other hand, microspheres with anincreased wall thickness (i.e., a larger aspect ratio) will generallyform a stronger tile. However, depending on the concentration of themicrospheres, such tile with larger aspect ratio spheres may be slightlyless comfortable to touch when exposed to the energy source due to thetile having a slightly higher thermal mass.

The material includes less than about 60 percent of the binder and,preferably, about 20 percent to about 30 percent of the binder, which issufficient to bind the hollow microspheres into a solid member, such asa floor tile, that has sufficient structural integrity to support bothwalking and relatively heavy furniture without being broken. Thepreferred binder is a thermoset resin, such as two-part epoxy, thatincludes a base epoxy resin and a cure agent, catalyst, or hardener. Thetwo-part epoxy preferably utilizes a relatively slow cure time, such as20 to 30 minutes of pot life. This time enables adequate dispersion ofthe hollow microspheres or other low density component into the binderin a uniform manner using a low shear or a low speed mixer before theresin hardens. Fast set resins are not preferred because there isinsufficient time to uniformly disperse the hollow microspheres whenusing low shear or low mixing speeds. The low shear mixer or low mixingspeeds is preferred because high shear or fast mixing tends to ruptureor break the hollow microspheres.

In a preferred two-part epoxy resin binder, the base epoxy resinincludes a bisphenol-A resin, and most preferably, includes greater thanabout 50 percent of the bisphenol-A resin. The hardener preferablyincludes an aliphatic polyamine, and most preferably, includes betweenabout 30 percent and about 50 percent of the aliphatic polyamine. Withsuch resin and hardener system, a ratio of the base epoxy resin toharder is preferably 5:1; however, this ratio will vary depending on theparticular resin system utilized to form the binder. Suitable epoxyresins and hardeners that may be used for the binder can be obtainedfrom West Systems (Bay City, Mich.).

The ratio of binder to microspheres can also be varied to control thestrength and thermal properties of the tile. For example, higherconcentrations of microspheres generally provide a lower thermal mass,and increased levels of binder generally provides a stronger tile. Inaddition, the microspheres may also include a blend of different sizes.For instance, the low density component may include a mixture of largediameter spheres and small diameter spheres. In this manner, the smallerdiameter spheres will occupy any spaces that may be formed between thelarger diameter spheres. Such formation results in a more dense packingof the microspheres in the tile.

Alternatively, other ingredients may comprise the low density componentand the binder. The low density component also may be any ingredientthat forms hollow voids within the binder. For example, the low densitycomponent may be a foaming or frothing agent mixed with the binder inorder to aerate the binder to form a predetermined volume of void space.The binder also may include other materials that are suitable to form afloor tile that has a sufficient hardness and structural integrity towalk on and that adequately binds the low density component. Forexample, cement, ureas, or urethanes also may be employed for thebinder.

Optionally, the material also may include a dispersion aid to helpuniformly disperse the low density component within the binder. In oneform, the dispersion aid may be a zirconate coupling agent (e.g.,Kenrich Petrochemicals, Bayonne, N.J.) in an amount less than about onepercent.

The low density component, such as the hollow microspheres, alters thethermal and density properties of the material to permit the material tohave a surface that remains comfortably cool to the touch even afterextended exposure to an energy source, such as direct sun light. Forexample, the amount of the low density component lowers the material'sthermal mass such that the material does not retain a sufficient amountof heat that makes it too warm to touch. The low density component alsoalters the material's emissivity such that the material's surfaceradiates any of the stored heat more quickly. In addition, the lowdensity component alters the material's thermal conductivity such thatthe material more easily conducts any absorbed heat energy through andfrom the tile to the surface underneath. While the above theories applyto the materials described herein, they are not intended to limit thescope of the invention, and the materials described herein may exhibitsuch thermal properties via other mechanisms or through other thermalcharacteristics.

The following example is intended to illustrate, and not to limit, thescope of the invention set forth in the appended claims. All percentagesused herein are by weight, unless otherwise indicated.

A floor tile was cast by blending five parts epoxy resin #105 to onepart hardener #206 (West Systems, Bay City, Mich.) using a paint mixerto form a blended mixture. Ceramic microspheres having an averagediameter of about 80 microns (Extendospheres, Potters Industries, ValleyForge, Pa.) were added into the blended mixture while the epoxy resinwas still in a liquid state. The slurry was mixed under low shear usinga bread mixer with a kneading attachment to uniformly disperse themicrospheres to form a slurry. The slurry was prepared using 80 percentmicrospheres and 20 percent epoxy resin and hardener in the 5:1 ratio.For comparison, a control slurry of 100 percent epoxy resin (i.e., zeropercent microspheres) also was prepared.

While the slurry was still in a liquid state, it was poured into roundmolds about 4 inches in diameter and about ⅜ inches thick. During thefilling, a vibrating table was used to ensure the molds were uniformlyfilled and that voids or air pockets were removed and filled. The filledmolds were allowed to cure for about 9 to 12 hours to form a solid floortile.

The molded tiles were then placed in direct sunlight and the surfacethermal properties were qualitatively tested by placing a bare foot onthe surface at 5 minute intervals, which allowed sufficient time for thebottom of the foot to return to a neutral temperature in betweenevaluations. The tile with the microspheres produced a surface that wascomfortable to the touch and still retained sufficient structuralintegrity to form a floor tile that could support walking. On the otherhand, the tile with no microspheres was uncomfortable to touch with thebare foot.

It is to be understood that various changes in the details, materials,and arrangements of parts, components and mixtures which have beenherein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of theinvention may be made by those skilled in the art and be within theprinciple and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims.

1. A material comprising: about 20 to less than about 60 percent of abinder; greater than about 40 percent to about 80 percent of a lowdensity component dispersed in the binder; and wherein a ratio of thelow density component to the binder is such that a surface of thematerial is comfortable to the touch after being exposed to an energysource.
 2. The material of claim 1, wherein the low density componentincludes hollow microspheres having an average diameter from about 4 toabout 100 microns.
 3. The material of claim 2, wherein the microspheresinclude an average outer diameter of about 80 to about 100 microns. 4.The material of claim 2, wherein a portion of the hollow microspheresform at least a portion of the surface of the material.
 5. The materialof claim 2, wherein the microspheres include a ratio of wall thicknessto sphere diameter of about 0.7.
 6. The material of claim 2, wherein thematerial includes about 70 to about 80 percent of the hollowmicrospheres.
 7. The material of claim 2, wherein the binder is atwo-part epoxy resin including a base epoxy resin and a hardener.
 8. Thematerial of claim 7, wherein the binder includes 5 parts base epoxyresin to 1 part hardener.
 9. The material of claim 8, wherein the baseepoxy resin includes greater than about 50 percent of a bisphenol-Aresin.
 10. The material of claim 8, wherein the hardener includes about30 to about 50 percent of an aliphatic polyamine.
 11. The material ofclaim 8, wherein the material is about ⅜ inch thick.
 12. The material ofclaim 2, wherein the binder is selected from the group consisting ofcement, urea, and urethane.
 13. The material of claim 1, wherein the lowdensity component is a frothing agent to aerate a predetermined voidspace within the binder.
 14. The material of claim 1, wherein thesurface of the tile remains about 100° F. or less upon extended exposureto the energy source.